My review of the Changeling

I reviewed the new Eastwood-directed, Jolie-starring film Changeling for Moving Pictures.

An emaciated Angelina Jolie adequately stars as the distraught mother, at moments excellent and other times too overwrought even for this part. Playing against type, the amazingly subdued John Malkovich portrays Collins's major ally, preacher Gustav Briegleb, on a mission to clean up the LAPD. A cast of incredible supporting actors rounds out the cast, none better than TV's "Burn Notice" lead Jeffrey Donovan. As the unscrupulous Captain J.J. Jones, Donovan oozes devilish charm while furthering his career with little regard for others. Donovan really impresses as he holds his own with, and at times outshines, the acclaimed veteran stars. Geoff Pierson excels as the powerful and sympathetic Sammy Hahn, who defends Collins in the suit that eventually overturns "Code 12." While incarcerated, Collins meets Carol Dexter, the always brilliant Amy Ryan, who shows the beleaguered mother how to survive in the institution.

My review of DC Goes Ape!

Just poking my head up to let y'all know that my extensive review of DC Goes Ape! is now available at RevSF.

Tales featuring apes abound throughout the history of all cultures and societies. Aesop was rumored to be a baboon. Shakespeare modeled Caliban after an ape. Simians frolicked through the eighteenth and nineteenth century fictional landscapes of literary heavyweights such as Jonathan Swift, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustave Flaubert, and H. Rider Haggard. With the 1912 introduction of Tarzan in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan, the Ape Man, and the subsequent 1918 silent film version, apes emerged from a curious footnote to a major pop cultural force. By the time of the 1933 release of King Kong, the popularity of apes had evolved into a cottage industry that continues to this day.

Comic books eagerly embraced the gorilla. Following the publication of Strange Adventures #8 (May, 1951), DC Comics discovered that comics with simians on the cover—often engaging in some kind of human activity -- sold more than twice as many issues than those without. Throughout the Gorilla Age of Comics (the fifties and sixties) these covers became so prevalent, that DC actually felt the need to limit the number of ape covers for fear of flooding the market.

DC Goes Ape! collects many of the publisher's finest simian-featuring, super-hero tales from 1959-1999. The book begins with an insightful introductory essay by award-winning writer and acknowledged ape fan Mark Waid. Waid explores the origins behind and the content of many, but not all, the stories. Perhaps he meant to discuss all the stories but an apparent publishing glitch deleted a chunk of the text between pages 1-2.

I then go on to review every story in the collection plus suggesting several tales that should have been included.

(Crawls his geek ass back into the seclusion of the writing cave.)

Vampirella

Hot on the heels of the Creepy Archives Volume 1, comes a book reprinting another Warren magazine title from the late 60s, early 70s, Vampirella. The book Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles Maximum Vol 1 (no, I can't explain the "maximum") is another in the happy flood of black and white compilations. While welcome, the book does have its problems--there's no table of contents listing the story titles and dates of publication, there aren't any repos of the covers, and the pages aren't even numbered.  Still, I suppose we take what we can get.

Vampirella had a ridiculous premise, even for comic books. She hails from the dying planet Drakulon, where the rivers flow with blood instead of water. She steals away on a spaceship to Earth. Once here, Vampi must feed on blood every 24 hours, at least until a scientist develops a serum for her in one of the early issues. And then she's doing battle against some sort of lords of chaos. And then it turns out Dracula is also from Drakulon (of course) and they might become lovers. And then Vampi might be a reincarnated Cleopatra. To be honest, I don't know if the silver age editors at DC who put out the ape stories reprinted in DC Goes Ape would have signed off on some of this stuff. And, of course, nothing explains Vampi's skimpy costume.

But here's the thing. In the time-honored tradition of comics, engaging art can rescue the lamest story. Vampirella had a spectacular artist, Jose Gonzalez, early on in the series. His art was created for black and white publication, a rich mix of pencil and pen and grey washes, all on the same page. Gonzales' art is the reason these stories were worthy of reprinting and it's worth taking a look at, even with all the nagging little faults mentioned above. 

A short hiatus

I looked up today and suddenly realized that I had to write three movie reviews, two DVD reviews, two book reviews, my new Nexus Graphica column, and a sample chapter for the Irving Klaw bio all due by next Friday!

I'm heading to ground so don't expect much out of me for the next week or so. Also, there may be delays to email responses.

See y'all when I resurface.

Day 2000

According to Keith Olbermann on Countdown, today is the 2,000th day since Bush declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq!

Time sure flies when things are going to shit.

25 Arguments for the Elimination of Copy Protection

While more of an overview of the many problems with copy protection, Harry McCracken offers some fascinating evidence and arguments against the practice.

I used to think that the name of the Free Software Foundation’s DefectiveByDesign.org anti-copy protection campaign was a tad hyperbolic. These days, I’m not so sure. So much copy protection has caused so many headaches for so many people who just want to use the products they’ve bought for legitimate purposes that it’s hard to come to any conclusion but this one: Copy protection by its very definition makes the products it’s applied to worse. Almost all of it is basically disrespectful to paying customers; almost none of it truly prevents pirates from doing what they will.

At Long Last...

The soon-to-released Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) can be pre-ordered on disc! Although the entire operating system will be available for download on October 30, I find it useful to have the system disc as well. The discs are free and come with Live CD so you can test drive the OS before installing it.



I've been relying on some flavor of Linux OS for over five years and it just keeps getting easier and easier to use. I now run an entirely Open Source computer and I can do just about anything I want or need. No expensive Microsoft or Mac products on my computer. With most Open Source created with older machines in mind, barring any breakage, my hardware will be good for at least another five years!

Plus, it gives me more money to spend on books!

An informative post that should be read by all writers

This excellent blog entry by 20 year publishing pro Andrew Wheeler should be read by anyone who is curious why bookstores don't carry certain books.

Greg Frost was skipped by Borders. Toby Buckell was skipped by Borders. Pat Cadigan was outraged. Gwenda Bond was more thoughtful. Many other people examined their liberal guilt about buying from a chain store, and were vaguely uncomfortable about the whole thing. And I'm sure there are plenty of other authors who heard that their new hardcover or trade paperback was getting skipped by Borders without going on the web to tell everyone about it. Nobody's jumped up to say that they were skipped by B&N yet -- probably because B&N has more cash and is in a generally better position than Borders, so they're less likely to be tightening their belts that much -- but both chains skip books every single day. Every buyer for both chains skips books all of the time.

Wheeler goes on to explain how the process works. An informative posting and a must for all authors.

Quark: The Complete Series

My review of Quark: The Complete Series is now available at SF Site.

The relationship between the emotional Quark and the logical Vegaton supplied much of the narrative backbone. The literal and often insightful Ficus, brilliantly portrayed by the late Richard Kelton, had some of the most memorable quotes and the best scenes of the series. A superior example occurs in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ficus," a re-imagining of the classic Trek "Mirror, Mirror." When the crew comments that the alternate Ficus was no different than their own science officer, Ficus observes "There are no good or evil plants; there are only plants." In "Goodbye, Polumbus," a satire of Star Trek's "Shore Leave" and a title spoof of the 1969 Richard Benjamin-helmed film Goodbye, Columbus, Ficus engages in what is best described as "orgasmic mathematics."

The series achieved its pinnacle with the two-part "All the Emperor's Quasi-Norms." This heady mix of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Flash Gordon introduced Zorgon the Malevolent, and his daughter Princess Libido (the sexy Joan Van Ark at her vampy finest). The Libido-Ficus sex-pollination scenes -- the pair laying next to each other, head to foot, with legs in the air uttering "Beebeebeebeebeebee" -- afford several interesting and humorous moments. The magnificent Ross Martin (Artemis Gordon from The Wild Wild West) successfully apes Ming the Merciless as he seeks out the mysterious It.

(Remainder of review)

Barrington J. Bayley (1937-2008)

I received an email from Michael Moorcock that Barrington J. Bailey died yesterday from bowel cancer. He was 71.

When I published Barry on RevSf, we exchanged several interesting emails. He was generous with his time and his work. Barrington J. Bayley, a talented and unheralded writer, never got the break he deserved. He is survived by his wife Joan and two kids.


If you've never read or heard of Barrington J. Bailey, check out the Astounding Worlds of Barrington J. Bailey . Complete with fiction, interviews, and other stuff, the site serves as a brilliant introduction to this important writer.

CrimeWav.com

Crimewav.com is a relatively new podcast featuring some of today's hottest crime writers reading their own short stories. So far, they've had readings by Megan Abbott, Christa Faust, and Jason Starr, among others. I'd especially recommend Gary Phillips' story, Swift Boats For Jesus. Phillips has a great deep voice for reading and the story is a cynical read perfect for the tail end of this election season. 

Amazing Mystery Funnies

While researching an article, I downloaded Amazing Mystery Funnies Volume 2, Number 7 [Whole # 11] (July, 1939) from the extraordinary Golden Age Comics site. Noteworthy for the first appearance of the Fantom of the Fair, one of the earliest masked comic book heroes, the tale featured the dynamic art of creator Paul Gustavson. His work offered clean lines and sensational action. It's obvious how this character influenced the countless masked heroes to come and helped to spawn an entire industry.



Gustavson's work alone would be enough to makes this into an impressive issue, but there is also a sensational two-tone crime story from the legendary Bill Everett (creator of the Sub-Mariner and co-creator of Daredevil).



Interestingly, Will Eisner's Spirit premiered roughly one year later in 1940!

The remainder of the comic contains a smattering of mostly quality western, humor, science fiction and even prose tales. This was back in the era of the 52 page cross-genre comic book anthology!

Do yourself a favor, visit Golden Age Comics and download this gem along with thousands of other great titles.

Gmail backup

Yesterday's New York Times had a scary article about the very real possibility of being locked out of your Gmail account.

Discussion forums abound with tales of woe from Gmail customers who have found themselves locked out of their account for days or even weeks. They were innocent victims of security measures, which automatically suspend access if someone tries unsuccessfully to log on repeatedly to an account. The customers express frustration that they can’t speak with anyone at Google after filling out the company’s online forms and waiting in vain for Google to restore access to their accounts.

The best strategy to deal with this danger is backing up your Gmail account. Along those lines, the helpful folks over at Lifehacker offered up this method for Gmail backup in Windows using fetchmail.

Problem is that there are at least 15% of all computer users that don't use Windows. For the rest of us that live in the *nix (unix, linux, BSD, Mac OS X, etc.) world, I discovered George Donnelly's helpful guide.

It's important to know that Gmail limits how much can be downloaded at one time, so you might have to do your initial backup a few times to catch all your data.

Hopefully, Gmail will never be a bother, but it's always good to be prepared.

Books received 10/3/08 Part Two

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

The Living Dead edited by John Joseph Adams

Promo copy:

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."

From White Zombie to Dawn of the Dead; from Resident Evil to World War Z, zombies have invaded popular culture, becoming the monsters that best express the fears and anxieties of the modern west. The ultimate consumers, zombies rise from the dead and feed upon the living, their teeming masses ever hungry, ever seeking to devour or convert, like mindless, faceless eating machines. Zombies have been depicted as mind-controlled minions, the shambling infected, the disintegrating dead, the ultimate lumpenproletariat, but in all cases, they reflect us, mere mortals afraid of death in a society on the verge of collapse.

Gathering together the best zombie literature of the last three decades from many of today's most renowned authors of fantasy, speculative fiction, and horror, including Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Joe R. Lansdale, The Living Dead, covers the broad spectrum of zombie fiction. The zombies of The Living Dead range from Romero-style zombies to reanimated corpses to voodoo zombies and beyond.


DC Goes Ape

Promo copy:

Written by Otto Binder, John Broome, Gardner Fox and others; Art by Carmine Infantino, Wayne Boring, George Papp, Ross Andru, C.C. Beck, Jim Starlin and others; Cover by Arthur Adams
You'll go bananas for this new title collecting simian stories from SUPERBOY #76, SUPERMAN #138, THE FLASH (VOL. 1) #127, DETECTIVE COMICS #339 and 482, HAWKMAN #16, WONDER WOMAN #170, STRANGE ADVENTURES #201, SHAZAM #9, SUPER FRIENDS #30 and THE FLASH (VOL. 2) #151!

I wrote a lengthy blog entry about this back in May when this book was announced.

Caine Black Knife by Matthew Stover

Promo copy:

In Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle, Matthew Stover created a new kind of fantasy novel, and a new kind of hero to go with it: Caine, a street thug turned superstar, battling in a future where reality shows take place in another dimension, on a world where magic exists and gods are up close and personal. In that beautiful, savage land, Caine is an assassin without peer, a living legend born from one of the highest-rated reality shows ever made. That season, Caine almost single-handedly defeated–and all but exterminated–the fiercest of all tribes: the Black Knives. But the shocking truth of what really took place during that blood-drenched adventure has never been revealed . . . until now.

Thirty years later, Caine returns to the scene of his greatest triumph–some would say greatest crime–at the request of his adopted brother Orbek, the last of the true Black Knives. But where Caine goes, danger follows, and he soon finds himself back in familiar territory: fighting for his life against impossible odds, with the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance.

Just the way Caine likes it.

See Part One here.

Books received 10/3/08 Part One

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Getting To Know You by David Marusek


Promo copy:

Not since William Gibson and Bruce Sterling galvanized science fiction in the 1980s has the emergence of a new writer been heralded with such acclaim as that attending David Marusek, whose brilliant first novel, Counting Heads, appeared to rave reviews in 2005.

Now, in this collection of ten stories, Marusek's fierce imagination and dazzling extrapolative gifts are on full display. Five of the stories, including the Sturgeon Award-winning "The Wedding Album"-- a shattering look at the intended human consequences of advanced technology-- are set in the same future a Counting Heads. But all ten showcase Marusek's talent for literate, provocative science fiction of the very highest order.

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan


Promo copy:

Named by the New York Times as "one of science fiction's bright young lights" and winner of the Philip K. Dick and Arthur C. Clarke Awards, Richard Morgan has vaulted to the pinnacle of the science fiction world in just a few short years. Now in The Steel Remains, the first in a trilogy, he turns his talents to epic fantasy, crafting a darkly violent adventure sure to thrill old fans and captivate new readers.




After the Downfall by Harry Turtledove


Promo copy:

1945: Russian troops have entered Berlin, and are engaged in a violent orgy of robbery, rape, and revenge...

Wehrmacht officer Hasso Pemsel, a career soldier on the losing end of the greatest war in history, flees from a sniper's bullet, finding himself hurled into a mysterious, fantastic world of wizards, dragons, and unicorns. There he allies himself with the blond-haired, blue-eyed Lenelli, and Velona, their goddess in human form, offering them his knowledge of warfare and weaponry in their genocidal struggle against a race of diminutive, swarthy barbarians known as Grenye.

But soon, the savagery of the Lenelli begins to eat at Hasso Pemsel's soul, causing him to question everything he has long believed about race and Reich, right and wrong, Ubermenschen and Untermenschen. Hasso Pemsel will learn the difference between following orders... and following his conscience.


The Surrogates by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele

Promo copy:

The year is 2054, and life is reduced to a data feed. The fusing of virtual reality and cybernetics has ushered in the era of the personal surrogate, android substitutes that let users interact with the world without ever leaving their homes. It's a perfect world, and it's up to Detectives Harvey Greer and Pete Ford of the Metro Police Department to keep it that way. But to do so they’ll need to stop a techno-terrorist bent on returning society to a time when people lived their lives instead of merely experiencing them.

The Surrogates is a story about progress and whether there exists a tipping point at which technological advancement will stop enhancing and start hindering our lives. It is also a commentary on identity, the Western obsession with physical appearance, and the growing trend to use science as a means of providing consumers with beauty on demand.

More in Part Two.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist review

My review of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist now appears on Moving Pictures.

Sollet and Screenwriter Lorene Scafaria consciously and very deliberately unveil this sweet, remarkably feminist yet egalitarian romantic tale, hitting the right notes at all the proper times into a film that plays light years beyond its peers. Reminiscent of John Cusak in The Sure Thing (1985) and Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza (1988), Cera and Dennings dominate the screen, promising even better things ahead for this duo

More...

Watch Trailer for NICK AND NORAH’S INFINTE PLAYLIST
by SonyPictures

DVDs received 10/01/08

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.


Ray Harryhausen Gift Set

Promo copy:
The six-disc DVD boxed gift set features two-disc special editions of It Came From Beneath Sea, Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers, and 20 Million Miles to Earth: 50th Anniversary Edition. Each film is available in a brilliant colorized version, in addition to the pristine, digitally-restored black & white original version, and viewers are able to toggle between the two as they please. Also included in the gift set is a collectible Ymir figurine based on Ray Harryhausen's original 1957 hand-crafted design and signed by Ray Harryhausen himself.

I previously reviewed these editions of It Came From Beneath Sea and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers.



The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (The 50th Anniversary Edition)

Promo copy:

The single-disc DVD comes loaded with special features including audio commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steve Smith and producer Arnold Kunert; a documentary; six featurettes, and more.

Besides, this film featured the first appearance of Harryhausen's legendary fighting skeleton. That alone makes it a must for any geek!


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Promo copy:

One of cinema's greatest adventure heroes is back in this latest chapter of the immensely popular INDIANA JONES franchise! Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Frank Marshall, with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy as executive producers, the smash hit stars Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone and John Hurt, all following Indy on a perilous adventure to find the coveted Crystal Skull of Akator. Utterly packed with exciting bonus features, this may just be the biggest DVD and Blu-ray release of the year!

I reviewed the movie back when it played in theaters.

And the most exciting for last:

Quark-The Complete Series

Promo copy:

A spoof of science fiction films and TV series, these are the adventures of Adam Quark, captain of a United Galactic Sanitation Patrol ship. His cohorts include Gene/Jean, a "transmute" with male and female characteristics; a Vegeton (a highly-evolved plant-man) named Ficus; and Andy the Android and Betty and Betty (who always argue over who's the clone of the other). Based at Space Station Perma One are Otto Palindrome and The Head. Though Quark is supposed to stick to his sanitization patrols, he and his crew often meet adventure with such colorful space denizens as the evil High Gorgon (head of the villainous Gorgons), Zoltar the Magnificent, and Zargon the Malevolent.

I blogged about this in August.